Pretty Girl
by Rosalie James
Summary: Reposted. Edited. Aradia West is sick and tired of her family's "business". Trying to escape, she goes to London on a vacation not knowing that she's walking straight into the war she was trying to run from. SBxOC and maybe a hint of RBxOC
1. Chapter 1

So...I edited this somewhat. Changed some tiny things...it still kind of sucks. I'm sorry if anything offends you, I don't own anything.

* * *

It all started out so harmlessly...

My mother and I went to London to do some shopping. We had wanted to do this for years, and finally my father let us go. I say 'finally' because my father is somewhat protective. Okay, very protective. But our story is not about my neurotic father and all of his tendencies, but this is about our shopping trip to London.

I was quite excited about this trip. It was my first time leaving the United States; well not really, it would be my first time leaving North America. Damn Canada. Anyway, my mother was dreading the flight over; she had taken a trip to London prior to this with her sister, mother, and mother-in-law as a graduation present when she got her PhD. So my mother drugged herself up for the flight over. For the record, my mother may be smart, but she's done some stupid shit in her life.

This being one of those times.

"Mother, what rental car company did we use?" I'm dragging my mother, my luggage, and my mother's luggage through Heathrow Airport, not a pretty sight to behold. _God, I can hear what the airport workers are saying behind us now,_

"Look at that poor girl, her mother's a drunk and her father is probably the reason why they had to come here," one woman says. I could feel them watching us, "No, do you see how they're dressed? The girl's probably a stuck up heiress, mother's a drunken social butterfly and they're probably here on one of their numerous shopping sprees with Daddy's credit card," another woman fires back.

_Close, but no cigar._ I laugh to myself, _I freaking wish I was an heiress_. _That would be awesome_.But alas, my mother is a right-wing conservative doctor who overdosed herself and I am a sad excuse for a daughter. My father, we have already discussed. And I don't have time to fight with the airport staff so I focus my attention back to my slurring mother.

"Let me make this easier for you to understand. Where...Is...The...Ren-tal...Car?" I have to slow it down for her; _I don't know what pills she took_. My mother looks at me and smiles one of those drunken people smiles where it gets kind of creepy. Yeah, it's been one of those days.

"Didn't get one. Grab a cabby." Oh my god, my mother, in her state of drugged euphoria, is speaking in a cockney British accent._ I do think that I will die of embarrassment now. Thanks mom._ I roll my eyes and head over the line of cabs waiting for passengers.

_Those poor drivers, they never saw it coming._ They see myself and my stoned mother, and start thinking the exact same thing the other staff did. I watch them as they do a silent 'Take her!' 'No, you take her!' moment and I slow my pace. _Let them work it out, fuck if I actually care, I just want to get to the apartment we are renting, get my mother to bed, and try to find some "fit bloke" to go get some coffee with._ That's all I want.

"Hello miss. D'you need a cab?" A friendly looking man asked. I'd guess he was around his forties, weathered. _Must suck to be a taxi driver,_ Hearing people whining about how bad their flight was, how horrid their significant other is, getting told stories about the "hot action" some overweight banker got while he was at a business convention in Denver. _I couldn't do it._

"Yes please." The man helps with the bags as I maneuver my mother into the back while grabbing the apartment address out of her carry-on. The driver slams the boot and gets into the driver seat.

"So where to?" He turns in his seat to look at us.

"Wharfedale Street, in Chelsea." I look up from the piece of paper.

"Very nice neighborhood. You renting?" He starts the car and zooms toward Chelsea.

"Yeah, staying for a couple weeks." Yeah we're taking out sweet time to do our shopping; hey we don't get out much okay?

"Ah, I believe that you'll be having more fun than your dear mum during your stay."

"And why do you say that, sir?"

"The local kids are getting home for holidays; many young people will be about. My name's Benjiy."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Addi and this is my mother Evelyn. Say hello mother."

"'Ello mother!" She then slums in the seat and then passes out. _Thank god._

"Your mother's and interesting character, she is. Too much to drink?"

"She doesn't like to fly. You say there will be people my age out and about?"

"Mmhm."

"So, where do these people tend to gather?" Hells yeah, why not just get to the point?

"Different places. Let's see now, Chelsea…near West Brompton..." Benjiy pauses for a bit. I welcome the silence, time to prepare my game plan. Get everything settled, go get enough food so that when my mother wakes up and has the munchies she'll be okay, and get myself dressed to the nines, then go party in London with Londoners. Sounds like a plan.

"Well, 'course you could go into the center of London and hit the pubs and all, or you could try and find a flat party somewhere. There's a pub near you that's pretty popular called the Troubadour Club. Then there's Club 21 and K-Bar…" This man is trying to get me arrested in a foreign country.

"Benjiy, I like you. You tell me what I need to know, and you don't give me the fluffy tourist-y crap. Do you do this for everyone or do you just like me?" _This guy is amazing. Hands down._

"Well, I saw your mum and saw you and I thought to myself, I thought, Benjiy this kid is going to get her mum to the room, and go party, she's not going to know where she's going or who she's with and this poor girl is probably going to end up like that girl did in Bermuda or where ever the hell. So I then thought, well I might as well give her the good spots to go just to save her some time. So, how'd I do?"

"You're freaking amazing."

"Do you want a lesson in British Slang?"

"Sure, why not? Wait! Should I use a British accent when I go out?"

"No, you'll get more guys with an American. But as for slang, please if you feel like saying 'freaking' as in the context that you did a couple seconds ago, use 'bloody'. As in 'bloody amazing.'"

"But then will I seem like a poser?" Shut up. I want to know.

"True, you probably will so use it only when you're around Americans." I nod. This man is wise. I truly have never had this long a conversation with a cab driver in my entire life. _Damn this has been more conversation than I had with my last boy friend. Depressing._

"Well, here we are Wharfedale Street, Chelsea. Do you need any help?" Without even me answering, Benjiy has the door open to help my mother and myself out, and then he grabs the luggage and puts it on the sidewalk. I leave my mother sitting on the stoop of the two story flat, okay well technically it's a town house, but I don't like getting into technicalities. I hand Benjiy a credit card and while it processes he hands me a business card.

"Here's my number for the cab if you ever need it, I hope you enjoy you're stay here and I hope our paths cross again." I give him a twenty pound note.

"Thanks for talking to me and giving me the hot party tips, and besides your job probably sucks, so we will most likely meet again. Thank you." Benjiy gets back into the cab and drives away. I pull the key for the flat out of my pocket and fumble with the lock. Finally getting it I once again drag my mother and our luggage into the home. Benjiy was cool. I hope that tip was enough. Isn't the ratio now like 1.98: 1? So let's round that up to 2. So...holy shit, I just gave the coolest cab driver ever a 40 tip. No wonder he loves me.


	2. Chapter 2

Another chapter. I unfortunatly don't own anything.

* * *

I get my mother situated on the couch in what seems to be the living room and try to find some paper and pen to write a note. _So, just go, get some food, come home and get ready?_ I try to crank my head around the corner to see what time the oven clock said. I blink a couple times so that my vision could focus on the tiny numbers, 4:39pm. Well...normal parties start at 9 or 10-ish, you don't want to be the first one there because if it's a house party and you don't know who's house it is, it can get pretty interesting_._ And not in the good way. But if it's a club or something to that effect, all the fake ID kids are there early and will hit on you and act like little perv's. Then you don't want to get there too late, because then everyone's already drunk and it's just not fun for the one sober person.

_Crap. What's the legal age in this country anyway? 16? Wait, isn't that the legal drinking age? Or is it 18? Damn...this sucks. _

_Fuck its 4:45, I'm wasting time!! Okay, first I have to write my darling mother a note, then I go food getting, then I come home._ Okay that's the plan. _I wonder if my cell works here. No...FOCUS!!_ I put the pen to the paper and write it out:

Mother, gone to the grocery store around the corner, I have my cell, don't really know if it works here, if I'm not back in 2 hours, wait longer.

+3.

Yeah my signature is a heart with an addition sign in it. Ha-ha, get it, "Addi"? Yeah...I'm a nerd.

I lock the door behind me and I head in the general direction of the grocery store. I remember seeing one while on our way here, but I don't exactly remember how far away. _I'm bored of talking to myself, where the hell is my iPod?_

The grocery store wasn't far down the street, but it wasn't exactly closed either. I stroll around the store grabbing random crap while avoiding small children with their over bearing parents. I could never have kids. I would be a horrible mother.

So after I semi-fill my basket I get into the checkout line joined by about every other person in the store. _They seriously need self checkout,_ but then people would use it for their major grocery shopping. I hate it when that happens. I also hate it when you're in the twenty items or less line and the people in front of you have twenty different types of things but ten or fifteen of each different type and it's an older store so they have to check out EACH thing. Yeah, that has happened to me before.

I glance at the magazines because, come on, that's why they put them there in the first place. _Damn, these people really like their Royal family._ Well I can't blame them; some of the family is really hot. Then I see the universal "doomsday" tabloids_. 'Is Tomorrow The End?' 'Farmer Takes Alien Bride.' 'Three Headed Dog Spotted in Surrey.' Sweet, I want a three headed dog_. Right before I put my things onto the conveyer belt a tabloid title catches my eye _'Mysterious Symbol in the Sky! Could it be a Sign of Death?' _The picture shows a green glowing skull with a snake coming through its mouth over a burning house.

_No freaking way_. I glance around to see if anyone is look and I toss the paper into my pile. I make small talk with the cashier but my mind is still focused on the paper. My father had warned us that there would be people in this country that would want me and my family dead. But, I thought he was just being neurotic, yet again. _Shit. I have to go show mother._ I grab the bags and head on my merry way.

So, apparently I'm not very good at directions. Let's just say that if I need to turn right, I will normally turn left. This is one of my marvelous directional moments. _Fuckity fuck with a fucking duck. I don't know where I am. Just don't freak out. Whatever you do, don't show fear._ So what to do, what to do? I look at my surroundings. It's getting dark and the houses look…I don't know…they're okay, I guess. But seriously have these people ever heard of a lawn service? Christ where hell am I? The fucking twilight zone?

I glance around and spot a phone booth and causally rush over. I pick up the phone and press 0. _Come on. Operator. Crap now I'm singing something in my head. This sucks_. After a couple seconds I look down at the cord that connects the phone. _Disconnected_. That would be my luck. _Wait_. I hit my forehead with the palm of my hand. I then feel in my pocket and grab my phone. _Yep I'm am idiot_. I flip my phone open and pause. _What number do I call? My mother won't answer her phone. She never does._ I think for a couple seconds and I feel a small card in my pocket.

Short, but needed.


	3. Chapter 3

In this chapter...you actually meet a character that you should reconize.

* * *

Benjiy. I dial the number and it rings a couple times. Finally the friendly voice of Benjiy is heard.

"'Ello?"

"Benjiy! Thank God. It's Addi, you drove me and my stoned mother from the Heathrow to Chelsea today."

"I know who you are, darling. What do you need? Isn't a bit early for the parties?"

"I went to go get food. And now I'm lost." Yeah, I'm pitiful.

"Well where are you?" I look around the general area.

"Uh. It's kind of nice. I mean, I would have no problem living here. On one side of the street are woods or a park or something. Uhm...it's the weirdest street ever. There is a number eleven and a number thirteen but no twelve. I am so confused. But...the street is called..." I step out of the phone booth and walk toward the end of the street.

"Grimmauld Place?" I hear a hint of laughter in his voice. I then see the street sign. _Holy shit, he's right._

"Yeah. How did you know that? Are you ba-psychic?" Dude, this guy is amazing.

"I run by there often on my route. I'll be there as soon as I can." I hear the line go dead. I sigh loudly as I close the phone. _When is soon?_ I look around the street. Deserted. I put my iPod on and wander down the street_. Benjiy comes here often? Why?_ I hear a plate break from inside one of the homes. _Great. This is insane. Why don't I just go in the opposite direction?_ Because you an incompetent fool. _Hey! That's not nice_.

_Oh God. I'm talking to myself._ I finally sit on the curb and just stare into space. This trip has started out horribly. I open a bag of chocolate that I bought. _My life sucks._ Angst, angst, teenage angst. _Crap, I'm a walking cliché_. I finally notice that I'm not alone on my curb and I try to sneak glance to my left to see who or what has decided to darken the streetlight.

A little girl stands somewhat beside me. Her hands grasped in front of her while she sways from side to side.

"Hi!" The little girl calls to me.

"Hi there," Still don't like kids.

"Are you lost?" Damn this little kid cut straight to the point.

"I'm waiting for my cab actually."

"Is it Benjiy? My family normally rides with him."

"Yea, I'm waiting for Benjiy." I glance down the road. _Benjiy, if you love me, you will hurry up._

"You're not from around here are you?"

"And why do you guess that?"

"You have an American voice." Little smartass.

"You're right. I am American."

"I've never met an American before; I've only heard them on the tele. My names Tonks, I'm six." _Poor kid, what kind of name is Tonks_. Then again, I have a weird name too. I think my mom was high when she named me Aradia. Now you see why I use Addi.

"I'm Addi. Nice to meet you Tonks. Do you live around here?"

Tonks shakes her head, "No. We're visiting family. What are you doing here?" Nosy little child.

"Shopping with my mother."

"Fun. Do you want to come inside while you wait for Benjiy?" Well, the kid looks legitimate. And there is a park type thing in front of me. _Prime hideout for a serial rapist_. But what does my conscious say? _I wonder if they have coffee_. Oh God I'm insane.

"Which house is your's?"

"Number twelve." _Okay I changed my mind, I don't want to go with the crazy kid. Hell no._

"Honey, there's no number twelve."

"Yes there is." _I'm not going to fight with this little kid about a house._ So I decide to change the subject.

"How about you wait with me until Benjiy comes, so I won't feel lonely?" Hey, I still don't like little kids, but this one is started to get on my good side. She nods yes and sits down beside me.

"Will you sing me a song?" Tonks looks at me with huge violet eyes. _Damn...little kid is going to get more guys than she will be able to handle._

"I'm not a very good singer. And uh..."

"Please? Pretty please?" Now her eyes are turning a bluish color, weird. She goes on like that for a couple more minutes.

"Okay, okay. You probably won't like it but here we go.

Pretty girl is suffering while he confesses everything

Pretty soon she'll figure out what his intentions were about

That's what you get for falling again

You can never get him out of your head

That's what you get for falling again

You can never get him out of your head

It's the way that he makes you feel

It's the way that he kisses you

It's the way that he makes you fall in love

See I told you that you wouldn't like it." This kid is still staring at me.

"That was amazing. Do it again!" Tonks is literally bouncing while she sits.

"I can't just sing the same song again. Besides, do your parents know that you're out here?"

"They were fighting, so I left."

"You're parents were fighting?" Hell no, I'm about to go do a marital counseling session.

"No, mum and her family. They don't like my daddy." Oh, that kind of fighting. I can't help that. Some families are just like that. Like mine. I can never seem to find a boy that both of my parents like.

"Oh. I understand that."

"I don't like my mum's family. They're mean." My eyes go wide. Little kids tell no lies. _Well about people and character._ That is one of the things I have learned over my years. I hear a woman call out. I spot a woman who I would guess to be in her early to mid twenties. Very beautiful woman. _Damn...I feel fat now_.

"Oh goodness Nymphadora there you are! Have you been bothering this poor girl? I am quite sorry, she just wandered off. Nymphadora come on, you had your father and I very worried." So this is Tonks' mother. Wait, Nymphadora? That poor child has it worse than me.

"She was no trouble at all, just keeping me company until my cab got here. You have a very well behaved daughter." Yeah compliment the mother and the daughter will get less punishment.

"She's waiting for Benjiy!" Tonks added in while going to her mother's side.

"Oh, I'm Andromeda Tonks, and you have already met Nymphadora-"

"Mum...call me Tonks." I smile at the mother and daughter. _At least some families can be normal_.

"Addi West, nice to meet you."

"Well, thank you for entertaining my daughter an-" Andromeda is cut off by a cab pulling up and Benjiy hopping out.

"Well if it isn't little Andromeda. Never thought I'd actually see you around here ever again. And hello to you little Tonks." Benjiy bends down and picks up Tonks and swings her around.

"Hello Benjiy, when did you start taking personal cab calls Benjiy?"

"Ah, this one's special. Met Addi and her mum at the airport today, best cab ride I've had in some time." _Is he hitting on me? I'm so confused._

"Oh. Well Tonks and I must be off. Addi, it was nice meeting you. Come along Nymphadora." Andromeda takes the little girl's hand and drags her back down the street. I could hear Tonks whine, "Muuuuum…" I laugh slightly to myself.

"So, you ready to head home?" Benjiy opens the door for me.

"Please." And off we went.

* * *

I was doing some creative thinking about Tonks's age. And I guess-tamated that she'd be youngish...so yeah.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer.

* * *

Truthfully I was dreading to get home. What if my mother had gotten up and was worried sick, like Andromeda was with Tonks. But then again, my mother was pretty drugged up. Well, I can talk my way out of it either way.

Benjiy dropped me off at the house and headed back out to do his rounds. I unlock the door and stealthily sneak into the house. Luckily my mother was still out cold. I put the food away and explore the house.

On the first level there is living room, which my mother is currently occupying, a kitchen, a dining room, which we won't be using,_ hopefully_, a tiny bathroom and a closet. _Nothing out of the ordinary._ I climb the stairs to the second level and to the right there is a very large window overlooking the miniscule backyard. That's about the most normal thing on this level I see. There are two bedrooms, with two adjoining bathrooms; neither bedroom has a closet though. Kinda weird. But a "community" closet at the very end of the hall. One of the bathrooms is about twice as large as the other. I want the bigger bathroom, because A) its bigger and B) it has this awesome balcony, totally want a balcony. The bedrooms are similar, both very large. The one closest to the larger bathroom is adjoined to the balcony and has beautiful double doors onto it. _Yeah. I'm going to fight for that room_.

I go back downstairs and grab the luggage and haul it to our respective rooms. _I believe it's time to wake mother up_. I tromp back down the stairs and poor my mother some juice for when she wakes up and go sit on the coffee table beside the couch.

"Mother, Mother! Wake up Evelyn!" Nothing happened. _Is she dead?_ I hear her groan. _Nope she's alive._

"Mother, Mick Jagger is here and wants to take you to dinner." My mother flies awake.

"Tell him I'll be ready in twenty minutes!" My mother stands quickly but wavers on her feet.

"Welcome to the Land of the Living." I grab her arm to steady her.

"So Mick's not here?" She looks so sad.

"No, Mick's not here, now drink you're juice." I hand her the glass and she chugs it. Yep, you can see who the more mature one of us is. "You should call father. He'll want to know that we arrived safely." I grab the empty glass and head to the kitchen. My mother pulls out her phone to call him as I notice a small burgundy envelope on the counter. _Father_. I pick up the envelope and hand it to mother.

"I told him that I would call." She puts her phone down and rips the envelope open.

"Well maybe he got worried. You have been out for a couple hours." I sit on one of the bar stools in the kitchen, while my mother reads silently. She finishes and pulls out a blank sheet of paper.

"Aradia, do you have a pen?"

"What did the letter say?"

"Aradia, I need a pen."

"I don't have a pen."

"Well damnit, what good are you? Accio pen!"

"Mother, I thought that we both agreed to no magic."

"Well I wouldn't have had to use magic if you had a pen." I roll my eyes as she scribbles a note. I grab my father's letter and glance it over. Blah, blah, worried, blah, blah, disappointed, blah, you two be safe, blah, I'm thinking about coming to visit. HALT! No he's not. He hates international travel. Hell no. He's planning something. _Crap, I hate when he plans shit_.

"What are you telling him?" I put the letter down.

"Oh nothing much…" I look at her with skepticism, "only that we would be delighted if he came to visit." _Great_. My mother lights a fire with her wand and tosses some floo powder into the fireplace and then throws in the letter.

"This is insane. What are you hiding?" I ask her while sitting on the arm of the couch.

"Nothing. Where are my bags?"

"In your room."

"Room?"

"Follow me." I sigh then lead her up the stairs and to her room. "I'm across the hall if you need me." I turn to leave but pause at the doorframe. "Is father really coming?"

"He must. For our safety, all of our safety. Not just while we're here, but back home as well. There's going to be a war Aradia, and your father is making allies."

"With other purebloods?" Sarcasm is my best friend.

"Well, are there any others to side with?" Yes, my parents are elitists, and ignorant. They try to force their views, but as hard as they try, I don't really give a shit. I sink onto her bed.

"Yeah…everyone else. Mother, please don't drag me around to all of your pureblood parties."

"I've already agreed to a couple-"

"Come on!"

"No. You must attend."

"But I might have to work."

"You don't have a job." She glares at me while she unpacks her things.

"I might! Why the hell not? If father's going to be in the country, I might as well get out of the way. I could work as a waitress or something." I stand and try to make a b-line for the door.

"God! My daughter _working _and _talking _with muggles!" She sits on the bed and fans herself dramatically.

"Mother."

"You blood traitor!" My mother pushes past me and storms down the stairs.

"Take that back!" I follow her down while yelling. My mother stops in the living room and faces the fireplace.

"Then prove me wrong," She faces me, anger shining in her eyes. I walk to my mother so that I am between her and the fireplace. "Come to the parties, show us other wise."

I stay silent. I've learned that over my life. Always let my parents have the last word. I hate what they believe, but they still are my family, my financial backers.

My mother turns and heads to the kitchen and I call after her, "Well, when is he arriving?"

I'm sorry. No Sirius...give me a couple of more chapters, i promise. but in the next chapter you might see someone you reconize.


	5. Chapter 5

"Wake up

"Wake up! Wake up you little harlot! We have plans." My mother pounds on my bedroom door. _Looks who's calling who a harlot_. I fall out of bed and go take a shower while pretending that I'm listening to my mother rant about my sleeping habits.

Refreshed and somewhat calmer towards my parents I descend the stairs and see what I normally see every morning, my mother cooking, my father sitting at the table with about a hundred letters and papers, three of the Circle members, and, of course, no room for me.

"Mother, Father, Darnell, Stagg, Marx." I speak my normal greetings and sit on one of the empty barstools. I can hear your questions now, as I did earlier, but didn't feel like addressing. The Circle is my father's "business". They are a group of pureblood wizards and witches that are devoted to the elimination of squibs, muggleborns, and "half-breeds". I can only draw comparison to Adolf Hitler or, in the Wizarding world, Lord Voldemort as what my father truly is. The Circle is what he calls his followers and the whole organization in general. Kind of stupid if you ask me, but no one did. Of course not, no one cares what I think in this whole extravaganza.

"Morning." They all chorus back.

"So what's on tap for today? Why did I have to get up?" I grab a cup of coffee and sip to my little hearts content.

"We are attending a party in a couple of days with most of Britons prestigious families. And you have nothing to wear." My mother as she serves mister Darnell some oatmeal.

"I have plenty to wear." What kind of party is she trying to take me to?

"Nothing that is suitable." My father voices from behind one of his papers. I roll my eyes and grab a muffin.

"I'll be ready to leave soon; we might as well get this over with." I climb the stairs to change into my shopping clothes. By the time I get back down stairs, father, Darnell and Stagg are gone, probably to whatever meeting he was talking about yesterday.

"Ready?" I ask as mother stalks past me and heads to the fireplace. Apparently we're flooing. And apparently Mr. Marx is coming with us. _Great, I get a bodyguard. What I've always wanted._

We arrive at Knockturn Alley and it was everything I expected, dark, damp, musty, and basically a slum. _Complete with the crazy people on the corners._ But behind the dark facades, lies pureblood history and enough money to...well...take over the world.

Why we came here, I will never know. We should have gone to some muggle shop. They have better dresses. But we didn't. My mother completely acts like the socialite she is while dragging me from store to store, trying shit on, talking to weird people, the whole shit and sha-bang.

Every store we tried was horrible, worse than horrible, they had fashions that caused me to go back in time. _What the hell do people wear in this country? A potato sack? Come on. Where is the tight, short shit? Do witches not wear that?_ Anyway, I'm standing in the last store before Diagon Alley, which my mother will die before stepping into. Back to me and my dilemma, I'm trying on this horrible orange dress, really its ghastly. _Oh my God, I've been in this country too long. I just used the word 'ghastly'_.

_This dress makes me look fat. Ugh. _Girls can understand exactly what I'm saying here._ It makes me want to be anorexic. But I like food. I have huge shoulders and weird hips, ugly thighs. Damn. I hate my upper legs. Stop it. Let's look at the positives. Well, with all the poofy crap, hides my lack of an ass. But it makes my hips look about two times as large. Maybe it's just the color. I wish I were skinnier. That would solve everything._

My mother's voice cuts through my thoughts, "Oh doesn't he look handsome! This must be your son. You must be so proud. I'm Evelyn." _Just ask her if he's single and start planning the damn wedding, why don't you? Oh God, I'm going to have to go out in this dress_. I couldn't hear the other woman's answer but my mother didn't miss a beat.

"My daughter's trying on dresses. We must introduce them. Aradia come out here for a moment." _Christ_. I turn back and look at myself in the mirror. _Shit, think of something, a spell, anything. Okay what was that spell? Shit_. _I just want the dress that Jennifer Connelly wore in the masquerade scene of the Labyrinth._ No, I'm not specific at all. I tap the dress and hope for the best and quickly leave the dressing room.

The whole store goes silent. _Oh shit, something must have gone wrong with the spell_. I take a small glance at the mirror. _Well, it looks okay, except it would be better if it were white, like in the movie. But I haven't mastered color changes yet. Damn_. I look to my mother and the other woman who are standing side by side with their mouths hanging open.

"Yes mother?" Yeah I dare you to make a complete sentence.

"Hm. It makes your hips look big. I'm going to say no." _Fucking cow_.

"Nonsense. She looks beautiful. Now do a spin for us dear." _Okay, I like this other woman_. I do as I was told. This nicer woman watches me scrutinizing. "It's nice, but let's try a different color. There we are." She flicks her wand and the dress turns a dark blue color.

"You still look fat." My mother comments. Yeah, my mother and I are _best_ friends. I glance into the mirror. _Fucking bitch, she is the reason I hate myself_.

"Oh come now, she looks beautiful." My mother sits down in a huff as the other woman stands on the platform with me.

"I'm Mrs. Black. It's a pleasure to meet you Aradia. I've always wanted a daughter, but I've only gotten sons. There's one over there, Regulus." She motions toward a boy about my age, checking himself out in the mirror. She leans in to whisper in my ear, "So does your mother always act like this?"

I glance to my mother and then back to Mrs. Black, "She's a pureblood, what can I say? She hates when someone gets more attention than herself. I can't blame her though, she had many siblings."

"Are you an only child?"

"Sort of, it's a difficult subject." Like hell I'm going to tell this woman my family history. I like her, but not that much.

"Oh, well what is the occasion for such a beautiful dress?" Mrs. Black asks as she fluffs my skirts dotingly.

"We're going to some party, I don't quite know. The only thing I was told was that I had nothing suitable to wear, and ta-da, here we are." The older woman looks at me surprised. _Shit, I should really learn to hold my tongue._

"We're actually attending the Summer Solstice Gala hosted by the Malfoys," My mother stands and walks toward us, happy to finally contribute to the conversation. I could still see the dislike in my mother's eyes for the dress and know that I will have to endure more time behind the changing curtain. _Let's look on the bright side of this situation. You burn calories by changing clothes, right? _

"Oh, you're attending as well?" Mrs. Black looks surprised and begins to look at my mother in a whole new light. _Yep, we're not just pureblood Americans; we're the elite pureblood Americans. Yippy!_

"Oh yes, we're quite excited," my mother flicks her hand as a dismissal so that I can change.

I got back behind the curtain to look at the pile of dresses still to be inspected. _I'm never going to get out of here._ I strip out of the dress and begin to slip on another when I hear Mrs. Black's voice from the other side of the curtain.

"Darling, just wait a moment while I find some suitable dresses for you. You're poor mother had you dressing for an autumn gala, not summer." My mom got told off by some other woman, which brings joy to my cold little heart.

I wait patently while the dresses appear in my room, first slowly then tons started piling on hangers. _God, I didn't have this many to start with_. I grab one of the dresses and struggle to get it on. _Damn zippers_.

"Will someone zip this for me?" I stick my head out hoping that someone is standing nearby. I see that Mrs. Black and my mother are gawking at a male model in a tux catalog and all of the attendants have mysteriously disappeared. _Just splendid_. I walk out for behind the curtain while still struggling with the temperamental zipper.

"Damn it," I curse under my breath.

"Here let me help you," I glance into the mirror to see the same boy who was trying on tuxes standing behind me. Regulus, Mrs. Black's son, and who is currently my dresser. His hands are cold and he fumbles with the zipper for a couple of moments before, finally, getting the stubborn zipper to cooperate.

"Thanks," I say while turning to get a better look at him. "I'm Addi." I extend my hand.

"Regulus, but you probably already knew that," He nods his head toward our mothers.

"Yeah," It's then that I finally notice Regulus. He's taller than I am by maybe 3 or 4 inches, his dark hair perfectly done in the "slept-in" look that probably took him an hour to achieve, but his eyes are drew most of my attention, they were a honey color that seemed almost unnatural. I'm not going to lie, up until this point in my London adventure, Regulus Black has been the best looking guy I've seen. Which you could look at from two sides, he could be considered über-hot or he could be normal, it all depends on how everyone else looks. _It's all in the company._

"I hate that dress. Take it off before it blinds me with its hideousness." My mother calls from her chair. Both she and Mrs. Black have abandoned the catalog to watch the soap opera that is Regulus and I. I roll my eyes and head back to the dressing room.

"This is going to take forever, you know," I call before slinking behind the curtain.

"Darling, are you _manually_ putting on those dresses?" Mrs. Black asks. I nod, unable to speak without sounding like a complete brat. The two women laugh heartily and even Regulus has to hide a chuckle. I look around confused.

"No wonder this is taking so long, just use magic to switch dresses," Mrs. Black manages to say while wiping away tears of laughter. _Duh. How could I have been so stupid?_ I mentally slap myself as I close the curtain. I flick my wand and I am in another dress.

Twenty or so minutes later the four of us emerge out of the dress shop and into the dingy Alley. I found a beautiful, simple, white gown. Apparently it would be perfect, or so Mrs. Black says, for the Gala. My mother had it sent to the flat so that we wouldn't have to carry it around while we went on about our business. Mrs. Black asked if we joined them for dinner and my mother, being the relentless social butterfly she is, agreed and we split ways with the Blacks so that we both could prepare for the dinner this evening.

"Now, what do I wear to dinner?" I ask as we head to the nearest pub to find Marx who decided that we could handle shopping by ourselves. _Smart man_. We then head toward the fireplace to floo home.

"Something nice, I'm sure you brought a nice robe or something to that nature," She throws the white powder into the flames and disappears. I look to Marx and he looks at me questioningly.

"We got asked to dinner," He nods and motions for me to get into the fireplace. _Right, he's still the bodyguard._


	6. Chapter 6

I still don't own anything. And I am so sorry...I'm an idiot, i uploaded the same chapter twice.yeah...i feel bad. so here's a new one.

* * *

I arrive home to see the living room full of Circle members. _Oh shit_. That's the only thing that came to mind when seeing them all. I step out of the fireplace remembering that Marx was coming after me and try to maneuver through the room of wizards and witches. I see my father sitting at the table and my mother whispering something into his ear, probably the dinner plans. I turn and head up the stairs hoping that there will be less people and reluctantly, start getting ready for dinner.

I finished dressing and headed back down stairs to find only a handful of Circle members in the living room, while the rest had been, most likely, sent on assignment by my father. My father, as paranoid as ever, had decided that flooing would be best way to arrive to dinner. You're much less likely to be attacked when using the floo network. Or so I'm told. So my father, mother and I crowded around the fireplace, bickering.

My mother turns and inspects my attire, "Are you sure you pressed that robe? It looks wrinkled."

"Mother the robe is fine, if you don't believe me do it yourself," I snap back at her, receiving a slap from my father.

"Don't speak to your mother in that tone. Tonight you must be on your best behavior, because if you don't I swear Aradia…you will regret it." He eyes pierce my mind and I feel a sharp pain in the back of my head.

"I understand father." I nod and set my jaw in understanding. _Just stop while you're ahead_. My mother steps into the flames and throws the powder down, disappearing in green flames.

"Now listen, this could very well be an important night for me. The Blacks are a very well respected pureblood family and they have ties to every other family in Britain, therefore this is not only a social call for us but a business meeting, so I must reiterate the importance of your behavior this evening." He turns and looks at the fireplace then back to my face, "Don't fuck this up." With those words he disappears in green flames as well. _Well, there goes the peaceful and magic-free shopping trip I was hoping for_. I throw the white power down and feel myself being torn through the air and finally stumbling into my own personal hell.

I trip out of the fireplace and into my father causing him to straighten my posture and set me right. _Well that was a great entrance_. I laugh to myself as I look at my surroundings. The room is elegant, in a very snobby way, it's quite dark. I know it is night, but come on. I then look at the group that had assembled to greet us. I see Mrs. Black in her finest dinner dress, it's amazing how much these women stress on their clothes, and positioned beside her is a tall, lanky man around my father's age, whom I'm guessing to be Mr. Black. I'm not sure of what I was expecting when thinking of Mr. Black, but this definitely wasn't my first thought.

I could see Regulus standing near his parents, the perfect son, the thought almost made me cringe, the _perfect pureblood son. It's almost sad that he will probably never think for himself_. I look down and notice the soot that had accumulated on my black robe. I roll my eyes, just thinking of what could be going through my mother's mind. _She's probably trying to do a cleaning spell silently._

"Aradia, it's wonderful to see you again, this is my husband," Mrs. Black motions to, correct, the man beside her, "and you remember Regulus," I nod hello to both of the men, "and…Regulus, where is your brother?" She speaks sharply to the boy.

"I don't know. I told him to come down," His mother's tone obviously throws him a bit.

"Well go find him boy!" Mr. Black's voice caught me off guard; it was low and very rough. He keeps defying my expectations. Regulus rushes down a hallway and I could hear him run up a flight of stairs before I turned my attention back to my present company. My father and Mr. Black jump straight into politics and head down the _wonderful_ discussion of magical superiority and have zoned the rest of us out. Mrs. Black and my mother both look at me scrutinizing my soot covered robe.

"It amazes me how she can get this dirty, that quickly. When I left she was perfectly polished." My mother shakes her head disapprovingly.

"Well, you know children. Darling do you have something on underneath?" Mrs. Black asks kindly. I nod and shrug out of my robe revealing a navy blue cocktail dress. "It's very muggle, but I think it will be expectable." The two women nod and return to their discussion on the upcoming Gala.

"It should be lovely; the Malfoys have amazing taste. I am excited to see how they decorate the ballroom this year." Mrs. Black proceeds to describe last years gala in detail to my mother.

_And then there was one_. I look around wondering where Regulus had gone off to, not that I would want to find him and have a wild make out session in a closet or anything. _Well, not now anyways_. He acted like a pansy with his parents. I hear shuffling above me and look up to see the ceiling. Yes, the ceiling. Sometimes I scare myself with my own stupidity.

"Aradia, would you please go see what's taking them? Down the hall and up to the top floor, just follow the racket, you'll find them." Mrs. Black smiles at me. _Well, what else is there to do?_

I follow her directions and pass through a hallway full of house elf heads. We have a house elf back home, but we don't put their heads on the wall. _This is kind of creepy_. I follow the stairs up a level and find an empty bedroom and a couple of empty portraits. Continuing up the stairs I arrive on the topmost landing. I hear the commotion through one of the two doors and head toward it, and see two shadows moving on the floor.

"I don't give a fuck what mum and dad said. I'm not going to have dinner with some stuck up Americans. So sod off." A voice I didn't recognize yelled from inside the room. I move closer to the open doorway.

"Sirius will you stop being a bloody prick. They probably are wondering were we are and are going to send up someone to get us." I hear Regulus plead with his…brother. _I wonder what this one looks like_. I step even closer to the door. At this point I feel like I'm eavesdropping because technically I'm hiding beside the doorframe, just out of sight. But once again, I don't deal with technicalities. From the silence in the room, I can only guess that they are having a major staring contest and it would be a good time for me to show up, but I'm not. _Let them suffer for awhile_.

"Fine, do what you want Sirius. But you'll regret missing this dinner." I could almost hear Regulus grin as he spoke.

"What do you mean by that?" _Now that's the line for a great entrance_. I step from my hiding place and into the light of the room.

The room was fucking huge. Well at least that's what I thought. A large bed with a carved wooden headboard sat in a corner along with a tall window obscured by long velvet curtains, and a large wooden dresser completes the furniture of the room. _Damn, this boy has style_. The walls are covered in posters and pictures, some magic and some muggle. I could barely notice the sliver-gray silt that was the actual walls. _Not that I notice these kinds of things…a lot_.

"Sorry to break up your quarrel, but I'm the search party." _I wonder if that sounded as stupid as it did in my head_. The boys remain silent, Regulus's silence was with a cocky smile directed toward his brother, and Sirius's silence was with a somewhat stunned look on his face as he stared at me. _Oh shit, I have something on my face_.

The awkward silence was broken by a creepy house elf popping into the room, "Dinner is ready, masters, go to the dining room." And the elf disappears.

"Shall we?" Regulus motions to the door and walks out. It's then that Sirius Black catches my attention and if I had not promised to be well behaved, I would have jumped his bones right then and there. He stands a bit taller than his brother, more toned, with the same dark hair, but you could tell that his hair was naturally perfect, it almost made me want to hate him for it, but then his eyes met mine. They were grey, but not a dull grey, it's complicated. They made me want to tilt my head in contemplation, which I had to fight against. I finally realized that we both are standing in silence observing each other.

"Hi, I'm Addi." I extend my hand to him. He looks down at it, shakes it and then looks back to my face.

"Sirius," he smiles, "Well, I guess we might as well head down for dinner, you being one of the guests and all." He still hasn't let go of my hand.

"Sure, but can I have my hand back first?" He blushes and releases my hand. I turn and head down the hall. I hear Sirius follow me out the door.

"Where are you going?" He asks with a slight laughter to his voice. I turn back to him with a confused look on my face.

"What?" Yes, I am quite confused.

"You're going the wrong way." He's laughing at me, this _boy_ it laughing at me. I told you I wasn't very good with directions, but now I have a witness.

"Oh." I look down the way I was going and then back in the opposite direction. I turn around and walk past him while he continues to laugh. "You know, when you laugh you sound like a dog. It's kind of weird." I give him the "you're a dumb ass" nod and walk down the stairs to join the others, praying that I'm not blushing from my encounter with the elder Black son.

* * *

I know...I know. Sirius left home when he was 16 and technically by this age (17-ish) he would have already had his own house. I know, okay. But I had to change this a little because it wouldn't have worked out if I made them younger. Trust me.


	7. Chapter 7

Mhmm..so here we go again.

* * *

The group migrated to the dining room where all the furnishings were a beautiful dark mahogany. They had not sat down yet, but they stood by their respective seats: Mr. Black at the head of the table, to my amazement, my father on his left, Regulus on the right, my mother beside my father and Mrs. Black beside my mother. In my opinion, this was an odd seating arrangement, but they didn't ask me. Regulus motions for me to take the spot beside him and I walk over.

"Did you manage to convince him to come to dinner?" Regulus whispers in my ear. I begin to answer when Mrs. Black cuts me off.

"And this is the last member of the family, my eldest son, Sirius." Sirius sullenly walks to the seat to my left. "Now let's sit and eat."

The dinner went on uneventfully, much to my liking, but then we all sat in the parlor for coffee afterward. This is part of the evening that I always feel like hanging myself, and I'm really not a suicidal person, but small talk kills me.

"Aradia, what school do you attend in the States?" Mr. Blacks asks over his cup.

"Salem's Witches Institute," I smile and proceed to try and make myself invisible.

"Ah, the Institute, a very nice place if you don't have any other choice," Mr. Black under his breath.

"Will you be returning after holidays?" Mrs. Black inquires while taking a pastry from the tray the house elf, who name I learned was Kreacher, had left on the table. I start to answer her but my father cuts me off.

"Actually, we will not be returning to America. Orion, what are your thoughts on schools here?"

The rest of the conversation drowns out around me as my mind completely stops focusing on my surroundings and my face probably shows it. _We aren't going back? What the hell does he mean by that? Well I know what he means but why?_ I turn my head toward my mother for an explanation and she quickly turns and starts speaking with Mrs. Black, obviously avoiding my gaze. _Oh my god, what about my friends? How will I talk with them? It's not like I can send them a fucking owl. I won't be near any muggle objects and like hell there's going to be a post office ANYWHERE near my new school_.

That's when my heart completely sinks into the pit of my stomach. A new school, full of people I won't know, people that could potentially hate me. I had enough years at Salem to at least know everyone's habits and know when not to fuck with them. But a new school, where people have had years to form bonds that will last a lifetime, and who will probably shun the new girl with the funny accent. _Oh fuck, I'll be a freak_. I could feel my sorrow start to show on my face and decide to excuse myself from the group.

I stand up and head down the hall past all the creepy house elf heads and sit on the stairs trying not to cry. _It's hard being a teenage girl okay_. I cover my face with my hands and just sit there for awhile, thankful that no one had come to check on me. I begin to start to hum to myself in the silence of the stairwell. I inherited this annoying trait from my mother. I was so enthralled in my song that I didn't notice that someone had joined me on the steps until they joined in humming.

"Shit! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" I gasp while Sirius laughs.

"Sorry. I was just jamming with you. So it sounds like the whole 'moving to England' thing was a new thing for you?"

"Yeah…new. I knew this shopping trip was too good to be true." I rest my head on my knees, not caring about my dress.

"Well, you'll probably get to go to Hogwarts with me and Reg, if that brightens your day." He says with a sly grin.

"Oh yes, that thought brings joy to my cold little heart." I put every bit of sarcasm I could muster into that one sentence.

"What year are you anyway?"

"Uh, well I'm a senior. But I don't know what that translates to in this system." I lose myself in his gray eyes.

"How old are you?"

"I'm seventeen," I say shyly. I don't like people knowing my age. You know, just incase I have to lie to get into a club or something.

"Same as me, you'll be a seventh year. Reg is in sixth." Sirius laughs slightly.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing, it's just that you look older than that."

"I get that a lot. So that makes Regulus sixteen?" He nods.

"So do you have a crush on my brother or something?"

"Uhm, no. He's a little young for me."

"Oh…."

"This is quickly turning awkward,"

"Shut up."

"Well it is. So, tell me about Hogwarts?"

"What do you want to know?"

"How about everything?" What the hell did he think I meant?

"Well, there are four houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. You get sorted into a house and that's basically your group of friends. And you eat in the-"

"Sorted? Like…do you take a personality test or something?"

Sirius lets out a bark-like laugh.

"What? How do they sort you?"

"You put on the Sorting Hat."

"Well that was obvious…"

"Enough with the sarcasm. You're worse than me."

"Should I take that as a compliment?"

"Haha, very funny."

"Pray do continue, kind sir."

"As I was saying, you eat in the Great Hall with all of the houses then you go off to your classes and it's basically like every other school."

We sit in silence for a long minute.

"That's it?" I ask finally.

"Well…yeah."

"Bullshit. Give me the dirt, who hates who? What is each house known for? Who are the jocks? The Brains? You know, shit like that. Like I really cared how the school goes about its day. What kind of sports do you have? You do have sports, right?"

"Whoa, calm down. Alright, Slytherin is basically evil and they hate everyone, Gryffindor is the good house, well I might be a bit biased, it's my house, Ravenclaw is where the smart people are put and Hufflepuff is for the clubbers."

"Are you shitting me? Hufflepuff has clubbers? Well with a name like that they better have awesome parties."

"Oh, they do. Every house has a quiddich team; I'm guessing you know what quiddich is, right?"

"I'm not an idiot Sirius."

"Just asking, but you'll probably fit in fast."

"And why do you guess that?"

"Because I'll put in a good word for you, and if I say you're cool, you're in."

"Oh, what I've always wanted to be, a member of the 'in' crowd."

"I didn't mean it like that-"

"Sure you didn't." I stand up and head back into the parlor to find my parents putting on their traveling cloaks.

"Oh Aradia, we were just going to call for you. It's time for us to leave." My father says as he helps my mother into her coat.

I turn to retrieve my cloak when I see Kreacher standing with it. I whisper thank you and shrug into it while striding to the fireplace.

"Well thank you so much for inviting us and we certainly will return the favor when we find suitable living arrangements." My mother says quickly as she disappears into green flames.


End file.
